Mr. Knittel
Chemistry Formal Laboratory Report Format Guidelines
General Points:
1.) Use only standard 8.5 x 11” paper. Do not use colored paper or paper with any
type of non-uniform edge.
2.) All reports must be typed unless otherwise indicated by the teacher. Use only
blue or black ink, except when underlining of highlighting.
3.) Reports will be written by the lab team. On the last page of the report, after
the question answers, list each person’s name and which part(s) of the report
they authored. It is expected that each person of the lab team will make a
relatively equal and significant contribution to the report.
4.) Each report will be worth 200 points unless otherwise noted by the teacher. The
entire report will be graded, including grammar, spelling, clarity and content.
Although missing entire sections of the report will result in a specific deduction,
please take note of the following:
Spelling or grammar mistake that is circled:
Each day the report is late:
Significant figure mistake:
Missing unit:
Missing subscript:
Missing chemical formula:
Pronoun in the report:
1 point deduction
10 point deduction
1 point deduction
1 point deduction
1 point deduction
1 point deduction
1 point deduction
5.) Printing single sided or using duplex is fine.
6.) Always center and either bold or underline each section heading like either of the
following two examples:
Introduction
Introduction
7.) Always indent a new paragraph.
8.) Write the report in passive voice by avoiding pronouns.
9.) The major focus of the assessment will revolve around the professional and
logical appearance of the report. For example, continuing a table on 2 separate
pages without column headings is un-professional. Is it expected that any
information garnered from outside sources is appropriately cited in MLA format
with parenthetical citations in a work cited page.
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Mr. Knittel
Format Report Format
1.Title
The Title of the experiment is given in the laboratory manual or by the teacher. A
title page is not necessary.
2. Names
Provide the names of all authors of the report formatted according to Last name,
first initial in alphabetical order by last name. (e.g. Smith, J., Doe, J..)
3. Abstract
This is a short paragraph that provides a brief analysis of the experiment. A
reader should be able to quickly glean the purpose, results and conclusions of the
experiment in the 5-8 sentences provided. For example, percent error or percent yield
should be included in the summary. Past tense should be used in this part of the report.
4. Introduction
This part of the report provides background on the experiment such as
information that was used to complete the experiment or on prior experiments that led up
to its implementation and how it was devised. For example, background information on
Beer’s Law and complex ion chemistry might be included. A hypothesis must be clearly
stated for the experiment. This part of the report should be in past, passive voice.
5. Equipment
Accurately list all of the items that are reusable that were used in the experiment.
Be sure to give the number of items used and the size. For example, you might list a 250
mL beaker. It is not proper to just say that a beaker was used with no size qualification.
6. Materials
Accurately list all disposable items that were used in the experiment. For
chemicals, provide the name and chemical formula. For solutions, be sure to provide the
concentration. Do not list any items that were not used.
7. Procedure
This section must be in past tense, and passive voice. Use a step format, where
you list what was done in each part of the experiment. Don’t rely on the lab manual
because changes will have been made in the printed procedure. You need to also reword
what is written in the lab manual rather than just copy it directly. For example, if the lab
manual says “Heat a beaker for 20 minutes” you would type in your procedure that “A
beaker was heated for 20 minutes”. Alternatively, the procedure may be cited, using
MLA format with any changes made in the procedure being noted.
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8. Observations
This section should be broken into two (2) parts: qualitative and quantitative.
Qualitative observations are not measurements, while quantitative are. Use tables and
graphs/pictures whenever possible; however make sure that each table or figure is
numbered and has a title to accompany it. Make sure that all measurements have the
proper number of significant figures and a unit.
This section should be in past tense. Report all that was seen in the experiment.
It is very important to describe all chemicals, all changes and processes, and all final
appearances. For each reaction you should have 3 parts: an initial description, a
description of the reaction itself, and a description of the final appearance.
When one states that “the solution smells like a swimming pool” that is an observation.
One would not say that the solution smells like a swimming pool “because it has
chlorine in it”. This is an interpretation, and thus a result.
9. Results
This section should be in past or present tense. This is the section in which all
observations are interpreted. For example
One would not state that “the solution smells like a swimming pool” because this
is an observation.
Rather, one would say that the solution smells like a swimming pool “because it
has chlorine in it”. This is an interpretation, and thus a result.
All calculations and balanced chemical equations should be in this section.
All calculations need a title, work and a written description of what is being done, why it
is being analyzed and for what purpose. For multiple calculations of the exact same type,
a sample calculation may be provided if it is clearly stated which results are based on this
example.
10. Discussion
The first paragraph should be a discussion on the prevalence of error in your experiment.
What could have gone wrong? Keep the error analysis scientific and don’t relate things
such as “the beaker broke” or “the student was burned” as sources of error. Try not to be
overly dramatic regarding the effects of the errors on the experiment, for example the
experiment is usually not “completely ruined”. Cite sources of error and explain how
they contributed to any discrepancies in the results. (past tense)
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Mr. Knittel
The second paragraph should restate the hypothesis made (in the introduction), and the
relevant conclusions drawn from the experiment. Mention any relevant laws, theories or
models related to the experiment. Always try to think of how this experiment explains
current scientific knowledge. (present tense)
The third paragraph should include the ramifications for the experiment. How could the
knowledge gained be used in a practical way? What was learned that was new? What
modifications would be made if the experiment were to be performed again and why?
This needs to be a full paragraph that is a least 5 sentences long. (past, present or future
tense)
11. Questions Do not write the actual question itself out and then answer. Restate the
question in your answer. Use complete sentences and number each question.
InFormal Report Format
All informal reports will be hand-written in the lab notebooks (mead composition book)
and completed by each individual student. The first page of the notebook will be a
table of contents and each page (front and back) will be numbered. No pronouns should
appear in the informal lab report. The observations will be signed and dated as is done in
the professional research community. Handwriting must be legible and will be evaluated
for proper grammar and sentence structure. Each report should include the following:
1. Title
2. Author’s name and names of lab partners.
3. Abstract (see earlier description)
4. Materials
5. Equipment
6. A formally cited procedure (MLA format with parenthetical citations) noting any
and all changes.
7. Observations: leave space to record what was seen in the experiment in table
format. All observations should be recorded in table(s) that are numbered and
titled. This is the main focus of keeping a lab notebook. These need to be signed
and dated.
8. Results (see earlier description)
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9. Conclusion: draw an appropriate and logical conclusion(s) based on the results
achieved. This should be a paragraph.
10. Question answers with the original question restated in the answer.
Lab notebook Rationale
The purpose of a lab notebook is to:
a. Provide validation of important achievements made in the lab (i.e. if you went to
court to prove a discovery, this would be your evidence)
b. Provide documentation of the exact procedure used so that it may be repeated in
the exact same fashion by you or someone else.
c. Keep all of the important documentation for lab work in one coherent and logical
format.
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